The minor was spearheaded by Professor of Jewish Studies Heidi Ravven, who joined the Religious Studies Department in 1983. She had long considered developing a Jewish Studies Program and believes now is the right moment given the war in the Middle East and tensions throughout the world.
“I’ve spoken with students at length, both Jewish students and those who want to know how they can better understand Jewish values and culture. They want to learn about the relationship of history and politics and how it ties to the present. They want history courses, Middle East courses, courses in Jewish art and literature. Some are looking for support and a sense of belonging,” Ravven said.
The Jewish Studies minor requires five courses, most of which are already part of Hamilton’s curricular offerings. The goal is to give students the opportunity to formalize their interest in Jewish culture through a structured, multidisciplinary program that combines language, history, politics, philosophy, literature, art, and film. In addition, students will have the opportunity to learn Hebrew, ancient and modern.
.“As we send our students into the world, our job as educators is to help them understand the world and contribute to it in ways that are nuanced and passionate, but not so inflamed. We want the program to give them that.”
A leading expert on the philosophy of the 17th-century Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza, Ravven was the first to propose that Spinoza anticipated central discoveries in the neuroscience of the emotions. In her popular course Know Thyself: Spinoza, Ravven asks students to read the philosopher’s masterpiece, The Ethics, with a view to understanding its contemporary and personal implications.
She prompts students to consider such questions as “How can we use ceremonies, marches, and pilgrimages to enhance American democracy?” — and then asks, “What would Spinoza say?” So engaging was the exercise that students had T-shirts printed with “WWSS?” emblazoned on the front. In some ways, Ravven sees the Jewish Studies Program as her legacy on College Hill. “As we send our students into the world, our job as educators is to help them understand the world and contribute to it in ways that are nuanced and passionate, but not so inflamed,” she said. “We want the program to give them that.”
